ASIA

ASIA

Top Luxury Hotels in Africa & Indian Ocean

Exotic animals, exotic cultures, and exotic tropical seascapes – the wildest continent on the planet and the swathe of ocean that occupies the space to its east are hands down among the world’s most exciting place to visit, easily competing for bragging rights on the natural, animal and human achievement fronts.

Africa’s majestic Big Five creatures may have lured explorers to its wilderness for centuries, but the Maldives is also home to its own Big Five that inhabit the underwater gardens of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives has its Blue Hole dive spot, and Morocco has its fabled blue city. The legendary big wild of Zambia meets the big blue of the Maldives and Seychelles in a showdown in which the traveler is always the winner.

​Africa and the Indian Ocean may be mother nature’s finest flex of the amazing, but the destinations within these two vast regions, including Sri Lanka and Morocco, showcase some of mankind’s most colorful – and aromatic – expressions of culture. Whether you’re a dream chaser by day or star hunter by night, there’s a story to be told and an adventure to behold in this expansive wet ‘n’ wild slice of the world.

To mark three years since our founder went on the road on a global luxury hunt, we are unveiling our first publication

100 Best BY LUXURYHUNT.COM

Launched in April 2017, the inaugural 100 Best coffee table book highlights LuxuryHunt’s most inspiring travel experiences. The beautifully bound 708-page publication with gorgeous photography captures the essence of the LuxuryHunt journey which spans 26 countries across the globe. In addition, 100 Best showcases a curated selection of leading luxury brands through a series of special articles and features. The hunt continues for the second edition of 100 Best revealing in 2019…

A never-ending list of attractions might be the fodder of destination marketers’ dreams, but a few places on the planet still prove that being a “jack of all enticements” is no better than being master of one.

Instead of exclaiming “look within our land at all we have!”, this coral-atoll nation, ever so nonchalantly sprinkled across the Indian Ocean, graciously diverts your gaze to the 50 Shades of Blue under the water’s surface, and above – as far as the eye can see. Resort island, island resort … with all the major resorts commandeering their own private atoll, they’re one and the same – the top luxury hotels in the

Maldives are exclusively fabulous and fabulously exclusive. While the sea-sand-sun trinity might prevail as the principal focus of a Maldivian adventure, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the setting (cue destination marketers).

​Get wet with manta rays and whale sharks, or throw on your snorkel for an impromptu date with the colorful reef creatures. Stay dry in a submarine while you discover coral kingdoms, or go above the surface and spot dolphins and whales from your private charter yacht. Get playful, and dance across the waters while enjoying a few watersports, or get high and soar above the scenery in a seaplane. When the night sets in, get down at underwater nightclubs and bars, or stay bedazzled beneath a blanket of stars. Above all else, be entranced by the sunny side of life in our selection of the best Maldives luxury hotels.

Just like the tagines the country is known for, Morocco is rich, complex, and utterly magical. This is where Berber nomads still live in camel-hair tents, and where the world’s oldest library and its oldest university, stand proudly in heritage medinas. On the other hand, this is also the same country that offers five-star seaside resorts and luxury tents with air-conditioning and private Jacuzzis.

Snow-capped mountains, whipping desert sands, and gorgeous beach towns – Morocco is a “choose your adventure” book full of endless journeys. From the bustling Djemaa El Fna Square to swatches of barren Saharan desert, the country’s exotic locales have made it a prime film set for everything from Lawrence of Arabia to Sex and the City 2, and of course, a prime travel destination for plenty of memory-making.

One city, perhaps more so than the others, has become synonymous with Morocco – Marrakech. The former imperial capital is a literal treasure trove of seekers’ pleasures. Home to beautiful architecture and a raucous medina positively humming with life, the souks are bursting at the seams, waiting to suck you into their maze of alleyways. When it all gets a bit too much, rest your senses and duck through iconic keyhole-shaped doorways into the lap of luxury in one of the city’s urban resort sanctuaries.